From Japan to Taiwan: A look at massive quakes that rocked South East Asia this year

New Delhi: An earthquake measuring 6.3 on the Richter Scale hit southwestern Japan on Wednesday, the US Geological Survey said. The country has not sounded any tsunami warnings yet or reported any damage. According to the USGC, the epicentre of the earthquake was between two islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, about 18 kilometres west of Uwajima, at a depth of nearly 25 kilometres.

“There is no risk of tsunami caused by this earthquake,” the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on X (formerly Twitter). As per the authorities, the Ikata nuclear power plant in the area was operating as normal. “No abnormalities have been detected at the Ikata power plant and the operation is continuing,” it said.

Several earthquakes in South East Asia since start of this year

Notably, there have been several earthquakes in South East Asia so far, since the beginning of the year. On the first day of the year itself, Japan’s Ishikawa witnessed a massive earthquake of 7.5 magnitude that led to the death of 244 people. More than 1,297 people were also injured. Apart from Japan, there were several earthquakes in the region same month, including Indonesia’s North Sulawesi offshore (6.7 at the Richter Scale), Afghanistan’s Badakhshan (6.4), Brazil’s Amazonas (6.6).

Also read: List of earthquakes in 2024 till date

In another major earthquake in Xinjiang province of China same month, an earthquake measuring 7 on Richter Scale led to the deaths of three people and injured at least 74. Similarly, earthquakes were reported in other parts of the region with over 6 measuring on the Richter Scale between February and April. These include The Kermadec Islands offshore (6.1) in New Zealand, East Java offshore in Indonesia, Hualien offshore in Taiwan. The region also saw another major earthquake in Taiwan’s Hualien on April 2, measuring 74 on Richter Scale. At least seven people reportedly lost their lives and over 736 were injured in the devastating quake.